Performance of Constance and her Friends for Culture Night 2018

Image: Róisín McAtamney performs in Constance and her friends by Mary Moynihan

Special Performance for Culture Night

Constance and her Friends

by Mary Moynihan

Rathdown House, Grangegorman Campus, Dublin

Friday 21 September, 2018, 5-6pm

Supported by: ‘. . . the lives we live’ Grangegorman Public Art, Grangegorman Development Agency, Dublin City Council and Creative Ireland Dublin City Programme 2018

Megan O’Malley performs in Constance and Her Friends by Mary Moynihan

This Culture Night, Smashing Times present Constance and Her Friends by Mary Moynihan, performed by Megan O’Malley and directed by Dr Eric Weitz. The performance is followed by a talk with lead artist Mary Moynihan to explore the creative processes used in the project Smashing Times: A Creative Celebration of the Centenary Vote for Women and highlighting stories of women from 1918. In Constance and Her Friends, Constance Markievicz and her friends reflect on memories of the 1916 Rising, the Irish War of Independence and Civil War, her time in prison, and the suffrage movement. This work isinspired by the writings of Constance Markievicz with poetry excerpts by Eva Gore Booth and original testimony including an adaptation from Doing My Bit for Ireland by Margaret Skinnider. Bookings via Eventbrite here or email info@smashingtimes.ie

Smashing Times: A Creative Celebration of the Centenary Vote for Women uses creative processes of theatre, film and online digital resources to explore the centenary vote for women in 2018 and reflects on the experiences of women today in relation to gender equality, human rights and diversity. The lead artist is Mary Moynihan, Theatre and Film Artist, and Artistic Director of Smashing Times.

Using creative processes and a feminist framework, the project brings artists, activist and local communities together to celebrate the centenary vote for women. The project begins with a process of research and identifies five positive stories of change experienced by pioneering women who fought for the vote in 1918 and five positive stories of change experienced by women today including women living in the Grangegorman area. The 10 stories are used to create a theatre workshop model and online exhibition and to inform the creation of a short film, all of which are then offered to the public to bring citizens, artists and activists together to explore the kind of Ireland we want for the future in relation to gender equality, exploring key questions such as ‘What does the vote mean to you?’ and ‘what can we do today to promote women’s rights and equality for all’?

The project is a creative celebration of key figures, places and events in relation to the centenary celebration of votes for women in Ireland culminating in a short film and online exhibition hosted on the new Smashing Times Online Centre for the Arts and Human Rights, funded by the Department of Arts. The online exhibition highlights key people including Countess Markievicz, Maud Gonne, Eva Gore-Booth, Hanna Sheehy Skeffington, Francis Sheehy Skeffington, Dr. Kathleen Lynn, Louie Bennett and Delia Larkin. In addition to research, articles, biographies and photographs, the online exhibition features input from 100 citizens today in the form of statements, stories and filmed vox pops gathered by artists and created in response to the theme of votes for women. Key partners are Smashing Times Theatre and Film Company; St Paul’s CBS Secondary School; Mount Temple Comprehensive School; Mount Carmel Secondary School and HACE, Henrietta Adult and Community Education.

This project is supported the Creative Ireland programme, an all-of-Government five-year initiative from 2017 to 2022, which places creativity at the centre of public policy. Further information from creativeireland.ie and ireland.ie. A special thanks to ‘. . . the lives we live’ Grangegorman Public Art programme and the Grangegorman Development Agency and to Dublin City Council, Creative Ireland Dublin City programme and Dublin City Public Library and Archive.